


The  Vampire and the  Ballerina

by ckit3



Series: Dark Infinity [4]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Bad Decisions, Ballet, F/M, Love, Regret, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 23:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13422309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ckit3/pseuds/ckit3
Summary: a short one shot story.1800's ParisThe story of Yakov and Lilia in my vampire au.just something I felt compelled to write and I thought you might enjoy even if it is a change from the usual.





	The  Vampire and the  Ballerina

In all his long years of existence he had never seen anything so beautiful. Nor would he ever again.

Such was his fate, his curse for being a coward. 

Though one could consider it a self inflicted curse. 

Still, how odd to discover that one of the oldest of his kind, someone many looked to for guidance and knowledge as they walked a path unknown to your usual normal human that thrived with nonchalant ease. To them his kind were monsters, unthinkable, unholy creatures doomed to forever haunt the darkness and feed on humans. Fear was a normal response when facing something one did not understand. It was why in those days they were often hunted in return. 

He had been old even then, though he did appear much younger in those days. Before his failing and the regret caused him to look somewhat closer to his true age. 

If one of his kind did not take proper care of their body then even their enhanced healing would do little to prevent permanent damage in some way or other. This was one of the first things they were taught. He remembered being very strict on this very subject with the newer members of his kind and he still was, giving lectures he felt certain they did not heed. None dared question why he seemed to have ignored his own advice. In the years after it was said he'd developed quite a formidable presence. 

Would she laugh at such a thought? 

Truly he would have loved to experience her joy one more time. 

But life for a normal human is too fleeting. Too fragile. 

She, like so many others, faded from his life far too quickly. 

It was for that reason few of his kind sought out the others for anything beyond what would allow them to continue existing. 

If he was asked Yakov Feltsman could not recall the circumstances that led to him being in his current state of existence. Too much time had passed and he'd never thought it important to remember anyway. In those days he had been content rising in the ranks of those that held sway over his kind, desiring a place in the council. He held no other aspirations, no other hopes or plans for his future than to find a place among the elders so his own future would be secure. 

That was before.

Why had he been in Paris that night? His mind was reluctant to recall the reason, only the results of his night time wandering came to him now, feeling the pulse of so many lives surrounding him as he strolled the streets quite aimlessly. Walking helped to clear his mind and keeping among crowds helped keep him concealed. An old habit for an old man. Well, not exactly a man but it felt comfortable thinking that way still. If you could fool yourself for even a bit you could become one of them, these fragile souls and their blood that calls to him. One might escape for a moment into normalcy. 

Only on his arrival at the theater did Yakov remember why he had come out here this warm, clear star filled night. Someone had given him a ticket to a performance being held here, a ballet he was told. 

The first time he saw here there was light. Light and color long missing from his unnaturally long existence flared suddenly into being as he watched all the wonders she created. She was not one of the main dancers, her costume certainly not the most ornate or expressive but for all the time she was there on the stage she was all he saw. She was all he wanted to see. 

He would return the next night and he would have the finest bouquet of flowers delivered to her after the show. Discovering her name wasn't too difficult. Getting to meet her in person might prove to be near impossible given that he remained carefully unknown in the city. 

Lilia Baranovskaya, a dancer who had come from Russia to be a premiere dancer after leaving her home with a troupe that performed in her native city. She had been young to leave home but older than most who gave their lives to ballet. It wasn't her beauty and grace that stole him away. She possessed a stubborn determination beyond any he'd seen in others, spending most of her days practicing to catch up to the other dancers with the will to overtake all of them. One day Lilia would be the lead. He knew she would, along with her talent she possessed striking beauty and a tall, thin but strong dancer's body. The lights would shine for her and only her as they should. 

The others were nothing in comparison. Yakov saw this and so they would as well one day. 

Yakov used his own talents to learn all he could of this beauty who danced as if creating music, waiting until he could finally meet her in person. 

And this is where it began. 

There can be a certain blindness in the beginning of any love, the joy shared often shielding from the harsh reality beyond your own private world. So much can be easily ignored while enveloped in the sweet dreamlike state of love's beginning. Sometimes this exceptional bliss lasts beyond the dream, sometimes love creates a shelter that protects and revives when you are together. 

Sometimes. Not always.

There are those that say love is only for the foolish. Yakov tended to agree with that sentiment in his later years as he felt time hang over him like a vulture, just waiting and hoping. The bird would have a long wait. Thinking about that had a way of making him grin despite himself. 

It is,after all, very difficult to kill one of his kind. 

One had only to ask those that hunted their kind back in the day, if any still remained as the world began to forget. Even in their day they were never skilled enough. Most of what they thought they knew was wrong. It had been an amusing game to play once.

His mind was wandering again. When you have lived so long as he had memories can become fragmented, uncertain jumbles of truth and perceptions that are increasingly hard to untangle. Some found a way to stick, to remain intact no matter how much time passed. Many of his memories of Lilia stayed within his mind untouched, unaltered. Watching her dance, seeing her smile, hearing her laugh as her green eyes sparkled - none of those memories changed. Silently he prayed they never would leave him. 

Lilia never questioned why they must meet at night, either after a performance, at parties or just strolling around the city. What reason did she have to question? Her days were usually spent practicing, torturing her body, her feet, until it did all she demanded. The world of ballet was strict, demanding and unforgiving even then. There were always younger, more ambitious and perhaps even more talented dancers just waiting for a chance. Many nights they sat talking, laughing or in silent companionship. Yakov did not like the damage done to her feet but never once did she complain. 

Lilia had sacrificed much for her dreams. 

She told him that she would succeed no matter the cost, even if she must sell her very soul. For her the ballet was everything. For Yakov Lilia was everything.

In the quiet solitude of a hotel room they shared before Yakov found courage to entrust her with who and what he was. This was a decision never to be taken lightly. Those that ruled and protected his kind generally spoke against such an impulsive act because of the danger it might bring. For them secrecy was more important than anything for their survival and trusting normal humans highly avoided. But he had discovered love and with love one can believe in the impossible.

In the end it was not her new found knowledge or any fear or disbelief that brought about the inevitable failure. 

Yakov admitted to being a coward. 

Something Lilia definitely lacked. 

For many reasons, all of them laid bare for the broken vampire who had lived so very long, Lilia chose humanity. Given the choice she could not imagine existed as he had, or eventually giving upon her dreams. His kind could never stay too long in one place, especially if they chose to exist among humanity. The risks were far too great. 

Lilia wanted him to stay, to watch her dance and one day teach others her art for as long as she remained alive. 

A simple, humble request by a woman in love. 

Stay with me. I love you for who you are and I have no fear that you will ever harm me. I don't mind if we will never have children. Your secrets will be forever safe in my heart. 

It was Yakov who failed. He failed Lilia and would eternally regret what he has done. 

Faced with the thought of watching her grow old and die he did indeed fail. 

Two were left broken, finding solace in their own shadows. 

In the shadows Yakov continued to watch, seeing her rise as a dancer then as a teacher, leading her own ballet troupe. He watched until she was no more. In time he could be seen often on nights, leaving flowers at a lonely grave. The vampire lived on long after the dancer vanished from everything but his memory. 

This was part of their cursed existence. 

Yakov did indeed find his place among the Council of the great Dark Infinity, but time passes and the world moves on. The light that had been lost could be found again in a different manner. He had no idea where his path might lead, could not have guessed that a chance meeting might be the spark needed to change everything. To bring light and life back to an existence born of darkness. 

If she looked down upon him now, did she smile? Did her eyes still sparkle like crystals in the soft glow of the theater lights? Would she forgive an old fool?

Perhaps.

Every ending is, after all, just another beginning.


End file.
